What Is The Role Of Appraisers In A Palm Beach Divorce?

By Robin Roshkind, Esquire, West Palm Beach, Florida

In my practice, I have had the ocassion to recommend that my clients use appraisers for various purposes. Most of these divorce cases are high asset divorces, marriages of substantial wealth, whereby the husband and wife are disputing who gets what out of the collection of homes, boats, watches, stamps, antiques, serious artwork, wines, and just about anything else of value.

In distributing the spoils of a high asset marriage, either the husband and wife have to agree as to what something is worth, and then divide the assets according to equalizing value, or they can agree to ignore value in favor of preference. If the husband must have his gun collection, and the wife must have her four sets of bone china, the parties can simply agree to that. Where appraisers come into play is when there is fighting over the assets and they are asking the judge to equitably distribute the marital property.

Country club memberships, frequent flyer miles, unimproved land, coins are also up for grabs, as is sterling silver, antique silver, jewelry, cars, and anything of value that must be distributed as a result of the divorce.

Generally, appraisers fall into the following categories: real estate, jewelry, furniture, antiques, cars, boats and other vehicles, stamps and coins, and artwork. For more information about this or other divorce topics, call one of the divorce lawyers at ROBIN ROSHKIND, P.A. at 561 835 9091 or click on the Firm’s web site at www.familylawwpb.com for more information.